TRAGEDY: Drowning victim Mr W Andrew is pictured with his family, while the recovered launch, Doris, is tied up at Ahuriri the next day. Photo/Sir George Grey Special Collections, Auckland Libraries
Port Ahuriri was not able to service many of the larger ships within its harbour, so lighters (smaller, barge-type vessels) would unload or take cargo out to the roadstead – that is ships anchored some distance from the harbour's entrance.
Watersiders were taken out to the ships and would load or unload the cargo from or to the lighters.
On December 28, 1932, at 11pm, the launch Doris, owned by Fenwick and Co with 31 men on board, left the roadstead. There were 28 watersiders among them.
Fifteen of the wharfies had been working in the cargo freezer hold of the Port Brisbane and therefore wearing two pairs of trousers, two shirts and thick coats.
The other 13 more lightly dressed men were loading wool on the Port Hunter.
As the Doris made its way into the harbour it was struck by the Richardson Shipping Company lighter Tu Atu heading to Wairoa.
From witness accounts from the Doris, a glancing blow from the Tu Atu tipped the unbalanced launch over after men "sprang to the port side" trying to avoid a collision on the starboard side after a cry of "Look out, here's the Tu Atu".
Being heavily dressed, 10 men would drown, and there would have been more fatalities, but for the fact that behind the Doris was the tug boat Coralie.
It began to pull men to safety, as did a lifeboat launched from the Tu Atu.
One watersider, James Joseph, swam about 135m to the eastern pier to raise the alarm, and the launch Naomi was sent to look for survivors within 10 minutes of his alert to the tragedy.
Word then spread, and the men's wives and children came and tearfully waited anxiously on the wharf.
When the launch Naomi returned to the wharf with some survivors, the pleas of the missing men's wives sent the launch out again.
The Naomi recovered a body of a man, and despite his being been in the water for some time and obviously drowned, the crew attempted resuscitation.
When his body was brought back to the port, a doctor also attempted to revive him on the wharf, but to no avail.
Overall, 15 men were picked up by vessels and six swam to safety.
After this incident, watersiders refused to travel in a launch and would only use lighters to the roadstead.
From a town still reeling from about 160 deaths after the 1931 Hawke's Bay earthquake, this tragedy hit the town hard.
All of the men were married, and had 25 children between them.
A combined funeral was held on December 31, 1932, for nine of the 10 who drowned. (The body of Norman Low was not found until January 2, 1933, near the site of the collision).
Thousands lined the streets of the Napier CBD which was still under some reconstruction to view the long line of hearses in the funeral procession.
An inquiry was held in March 1933 where it was found that the helmsman of the Doris had cut across the path of the Tu Atu, resulting in the collision.
The judgment also stated that the harbour board had made a "mistake" in granting a certificate to the helmsman.
The helmsman of the Doris had his certificate cancelled, and was fined £10 10s (2017: $1200) towards the inquiry costs.
No other charges were laid, including against the Doris' owner John Fenwick, who was in the launch at the time of the collision.
John Fenwick, however, was subject to a lawsuit of £14,500 ($1.6 million) brought by the widows of the 10 drowned men.
The claims were settled quickly in the Supreme Court in May 1933 and £10,500 ($1.15m) was paid out to the widows and trust accounts for the children.
John, it emerged had also paid £185 ($20,500) for the funerals of the men, which he was not obliged to do.
John Fenwick was commended for his co-operation over the period of inquiry and court action, and he was "gratified to think there was no fear of destitution arising out of the disaster" for the women and children.
In addition to the lawsuit funds, there was a public fund started by the Napier mayor, John Vigor Brown.
The case highlighted a law going back to 1846, meaning if John Fenwick had perished in the accident, then the right to sue for damages would have been lost, as action could not be taken against his estate.
The 1903-built Tu Atu, which hit the Doris, and was acquired by Richardson's in 1913, remained in service until 1942 when it was bought by the Government to be used as part of the war effort during WWII and sent to Auckland.
The men from the Doris who drowned were listed at the Park Island Cemetery as Walter Andrews, Robert Aplin, Eddie Cooper, Harold Johnson, Thomas Kitt, Alexander Boyd, Norman Low, Jethro Medcalf, John Wilson and James Woods.
All of the men were buried in a common grave, except for Harold Johnson, who was buried elsewhere in Park Island.
Plans are under way to erect a memorial to the Doris tragedy near the site of the collision, with David Trubridge's being the successful submission for the design competition.
• Michael Fowler is taking a walking and bus tour, and other rail and walking tours of Hastings Art Deco during the Tremains 2018 Art Deco Festival. Bookings at iTicket. He is also speaking at 10am, Friday, February 16, at the Century Theatre, MTG on the topic Post 1931 Marine Parade: The beginning of Napier's Playground. Entry by gold coin donation.
• Michael Fowler (mfhistory@gmail.com) is an EIT accounting lecturer, and in his spare time a recorder of Hawke's Bay's history.